Sledding banned by Waynesboro Council at Memorial Park

The council unanimously voted at Wednesday night's meeting to temporarily ban sledding at Memorial Park until its first meeting in February, citing safety concerns.

Colleen Seidel/The Record Herald

WAYNESBORO — Citing safety concerns, Waynesboro Borough Council unanimously voted at Wednesday night's meeting to temporarily ban sledding at Memorial Park until its first meeting in February.
The concerns about the safety of the winter activity at the park — which Councilman Wayne Driscoll acknowledged is “a long tradition” — surround the construction of a new fence around the baseball field, according to Borough Manager Lloyd Hamberger.
Old vs. new
“The old fence had an area you could take down and provide a gap for folks to sled through,” Hamburger explained.
The new fence is one whole piece and cannot be taken down, and sled riders have been running into it, Hamberger said. The fence sits at the bottom of the hill popular for sledding.
“Every year we took the fence down and put it back up (after winter) and it was in worse shape,” he said, adding that the fence had become unsafe for the baseball players who use the field in warmer months.
The borough replaced the fence as part of a $90,000 improvement project at the park last year.
“I hate to do this but obviously baseball is the intended use of the park and sledding is a casual byproduct of winter,” Driscoll said.
Because of the new fence in place, “now it's a health risk and a risk to the property,” he added.
Safety
Councilman Mike Cermak said the bottom line is the safety of the sled riders.
“After many years of enjoyable sledding, I reluctantly agree (to the ban),” he said. “You don't want kids hurt.”
Councilman Craig Newcomer brought up the death of Amanda K. Bowders as the worst possible scenario for a sledding accident. Bowders died in 2007 at the age of 22 after her sled hit a pole behind Hooverville Elementary School.
The council members also discussed safety hazards of sledding in the area of Northside Pool but decided to limit the ban to Memorial Park only.
Hamberger said borough staff will consider options regarding the situation and will address the issue again with council at the Feb. 6 meeting.

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